Plan

"That guy Yue Kun has the cultivation of the fourth level of Boiling Blood; I am far from being his match right now."

"If I hadn't secretly followed him, I would likely be a dead man by tomorrow night."

"But now that I know their plan in advance, the tables might just turn on this conspiracy against me..."

Shen Mu left Cloud Dragon County and headed toward Emerald Cloud Valley without a moment's delay.

He never expected that while spending his days cultivating in Emerald Cloud Valley, he would actually find the culprit who lured the Dark Gold Red Tiger to its fall that day.

The fact that the culprit was the Guardian of Emerald Cloud Valley himself was something that caught him completely off guard.

"Bang, bang, bang!"

Shen Mu arrived at Emerald Cloud Valley and knocked on Hong Jingcheng's door.

On his own, there was absolutely no way he could deal with Yue Kun.

Since that was the case, he would take this opportunity to do Hong Jingcheng a favor, which would simultaneously avert his own crisis tomorrow—a case of killing two birds with one stone.

As for whether Hong Jingcheng would give him a reward for providing the information, that was not within Shen Mu's considerations.

When a person's life is under threat, any amount of money is merely an external possession.

At this moment, Hong Jingcheng was inside the room, making progress with Han Yan, and the sudden knocking on the door undoubtedly disturbed his elegance.

He stopped what he was doing and said impatiently, "Who is it?"

Hearing the panting inside suddenly cease, Shen Mu's expression turned somewhat strange; this Hong Jingcheng really had quite the addiction...

Shen Mu said, "Brother Hong, it's me, Shen Mu."

"Shen Mu?"

Hong Jingcheng frowned, still having no intention of getting out of bed, and said loudly, "What is it? If it's nothing important, come find me tomorrow at noon..."

Shen Mu said quickly, "Brother Hong, I just found out who the mastermind behind the Dark Gold Red Tiger's fall is."

"Hm?!"

Hong Jingcheng widened his eyes, his face full of disbelief.

With nearly a hundred people in Emerald Cloud Valley, no one had found a single clue, yet Shen Mu had?

His eyes immediately lit up.

This Shen Mu was truly sensible; coming to find him the moment he had news—didn't this mean his chance to get rich had arrived?

He hurriedly jumped out of bed, threw on a robe, and pushed open the door.

"Have you told anyone else about this?"

Hong Jingcheng looked at Shen Mu outside the door and said in a deep voice.

"No."

Shen Mu shook his head and said, "As soon as I discovered the clues, I came straight to Brother Hong. No one else knows anything about this."

"Good, very good!"

Hong Jingcheng clapped his hands and laughed, then hurriedly asked, "Tell me, who is the person who planned the chaos that day by causing the Dark Gold Red Tiger to fall off the cliff?"

Shen Mu said slowly, "Guo Jinchuan."

"Guo Jinchuan?"

The smile on Hong Jingcheng's face froze abruptly, and he said in astonishment, "Tell me the details carefully. How did you discover this?"

"It happened like this..."

Shen Mu described everything in detail: how Tu Chuan and his companion from the Money Gang snuck into Emerald Cloud Valley to collect a debt from Guo Jinchuan, how he later took Guo Jinchuan to Cloud Dragon County to get bandaged, and how he secretly followed him to catch him meeting privately with Yue Kun, revealing their plan to sneak into the valley tomorrow to ambush him.

"Good, good, what a treacherous dog biting the hand that feeds him."

After hearing Shen Mu's description, Hong Jingcheng's face turned livid, and he gritted his teeth.

He never imagined that this was all a premeditated and organized plan, devised by his own Guardian and carried out in collusion with outsiders.

"Brother Shen, you have performed a great service this time."

Hong Jingcheng patted Shen Mu on the shoulder and smiled with satisfaction, "I will go and inform Market Masters Lin and Kong of these clues right away..."

Hearing this, Shen Mu immediately shook his head and said, "Brother Hong, you absolutely must not."

"Oh?"

Hong Jingcheng raised an eyebrow, puzzled, "Why?"

Meeting Hong Jingcheng's confused gaze, Shen Mu said, "Brother Hong, think carefully. As the Guardian of Emerald Cloud Valley, under whose command does Guo Jinchuan serve?"

"If this matter is spread, how will those above view you? By then, let alone receiving credit, they might even vent their anger on you..."

After hearing Shen Mu's analysis, Hong Jingcheng's heart skipped a beat, and the more he thought about it, the more sense it made.

"Brother Shen, you are right. I almost ruined a major matter."

Hong Jingcheng felt a lingering fear, then couldn't help but ask, "Then, in your opinion, how should we handle this?"

Shen Mu said faintly, "Aren't Guo Jinchuan and Yue Kun planning to move against me tomorrow? We can simply turn their own scheme against them..."

"Turn their own scheme against them?"

Hong Jingcheng's eyes were filled with confusion.

"Exactly."

Shen Mu nodded and continued to lay out his plan: "When the time comes, Brother Hong, you can hide in the shadows. Once Guo Jinchuan and Yue Kun arrive, with your cultivation, you can easily subdue them both."

"Then, we drag them to see the two Market Masters, allowing them to follow the trail and interrogate the pair to find out who else participated that night."

"According to what Incense Master Ren said that day, as long as we capture one person alive, we can receive five hundred taels of silver."

"If you capture Guo Jinchuan and Yue Kun alive, Brother Hong, you can earn a thousand taels of silver from this!"

"The two Market Masters will also be able to follow the trail to arrest the other accomplices, earning themselves a tidy sum as well."

"In this way, the two Market Masters will owe you a favor. Even if the higher-ups try to make an issue out of Guo Jinchuan being your subordinate later on, the two Market Masters will be obligated to speak up for you..."

Upon hearing Shen Mu's plan, Hong Jingcheng's eyes lit up.

"Good idea!"

Hong Jingcheng's face showed delight, but then, as if remembering something, he frowned slightly. "But why don't we just follow the trail through those two to root out the others ourselves? Wouldn't we be able to earn even more silver that way?"

Shen Mu couldn't help but shake his head; this guy was truly insatiable.

Some money isn't meant for you to take; if you do, it will only burn your hands...

Shen Mu patiently explained, "Brother Hong, think carefully. If we follow the trail and capture a whole string of people, then go to Incense Master Ren to claim credit and rewards, how will the two Market Masters view you?"

"If they don't get a single cent, won't they harbor resentment toward you? How would you have any place to stand in Emerald Cloud Valley in the future?"

"Not only that, take this Yue Kun. He possesses the cultivation of the fourth level of Boiling Blood; he couldn't have attained such strength for no reason, could he?"

"This shows that Yue Kun is likely a member of some faction within the city. I suspect he is very likely a student from one of the Four Great Martial Halls."

"You want to follow the trail to root out the people behind him."

"Then, who do you think these people represent?"

"If you capture their men and the news spreads, it will inevitably cause that faction to lose face. Won't they take their anger out on you?"

"Perhaps you could earn a lot of silver, Brother Hong, but can you guarantee you'll still have the chance to spend it?"

After listening to Shen Mu's comprehensive analysis, Hong Jingcheng couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

"Brother Shen, you are right."

Hong Jingcheng nodded in deep agreement. Being able to capture Guo Jinchuan and Yue Kun alive would already net him a thousand taels of silver.

He had to let the two Market Masters above him earn a little as well; only then would they all be in the same boat, making their relationship even tighter.

If there were any good opportunities in the future, the two Market Masters would naturally look out for him...

Hong Jingcheng familiarly draped an arm over Shen Mu's shoulder and laughed with great enthusiasm: "Don't you worry, Brother Shen. Once the deed is done, I will absolutely not short you on your share of the benefits."

"Heh heh, this is only what I should do, Brother."

Shen Mu said with a smile.

He didn't take Hong Jingcheng's promise to heart in the slightest.

Judging by the previous incident with the Origin Cicada, Hong Jingcheng was clearly an insatiable fellow.

He had taken fifty percent of all the Origin Cicadas for himself, leaving only the remaining half to be divided among everyone else...

In this current matter, Shen Mu was merely acting out of a desire for self-preservation by informing Hong Jingcheng.

As for how much of a cut Hong Jingcheng would actually give him, he held no high expectations.

The two then discussed the relevant details of the plan and agreed to meet outside Shen Mu's Bamboo Shed early tomorrow morning before Shen Mu took his leave.